What is “Energy Healing?”
“My own awareness of mind suffices for all the books and teachings.” Milarepa This is a longer version of a post on “Energy Healing” that I wrote one year ago. After more than half a lifetime of studying and practicing acupuncture and allied healing modalities, it felt like the right time to write my own […]
This Cup is Already Broken – the wisdom of letting go
Family support is a precious jewel. How am I so fortunate? When I developed a severe arthritis flare up in my left knee on January 2, I was sent home from the ER with a prescription for analgesics and a referral to Swedish Orthopedic Institute. The PA there looked at my x-rays and told me […]
December in Taiwan – Journey to Snow Mountain
Travel is many things. An opportunity to see oneself reflected in the mirror of another culture, immersed in the verbal ocean of another language; and an opportunity to be with loved ones. We live in a time of climate emergency, fueled by human caused carbon emissions which are due in no small part to jet […]
Ingalls Lake – October 8
What a magical place. Some lament the increasingly crowded trails, though on the flip side, it is good to see so many people connecting with nature. We took a side trip that added an extra 2 miles and 1500 feet of vertical climbing and saw very few people until reaching the lake, though please use […]
Crystal Clear and Colorful
A day in the mountains. Stilling the mind and soothing the heart within the vast expanse of the natural world. Breathing in the sky, the sun, the colors, and feeling thankful to be alive. Location: Ingalls Lake in the Enchantment Range. (click on individual images for full resolution).
Wilderness Time Out
More climate disasters – locally the new tree ordinance doesn’t protect 99% of the few remaining large native trees in Seattle, while allowing developers to profit. More record heat and whiffs of wildfire smoke in the air. Globally, fires (Maui), heat waves (Europe), floods (New England). It’s a lot to take in and process and […]
Social Activism Liberated from the “Us versus Them” Mentality – Metta Meditation
*I gave this talk on July 29, 2023, at an Interfaith Prayer Ceremony standing beneath Luma the Cedar, in Seattle, on traditional, unceded Coast Salish land of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Muckleshot, Snoqualmie, Puyallup, and Tulalip people. Good evening. My name is Jordan Van Voast, I’ve been a practicing Buddhist for around 30 years. I don’t […]
#LUMA – Trees are Life
I heard about LUMA less than a week ago – an old growth cedar tree in North Seattle destined to be cut to the ground at the orders of a Bellevue based real estate development company, and approved by City of Seattle. What? In the hottest year on the planet in the last million years? […]
Wilderness is a State of Mind – Olympic Mountain sojourn 2023
Wilderness is ultimately a state of mind, and yet, without the physical wilderness of virgin forests, pristine rivers, diverse ecosystems of flora and fauna roaming across peaks, valleys, and meadows, the richness of our human experience would be cheapened and threatened due to planetary degradation. Why do monks and nuns still seek out remote places […]